Auditor General
City of Windsor

Economy

Windsor is a mid-sized city in Southwestern Ontario, stationed on the bank of the Detroit River, directly across from Detroit, Michigan. Windsor is Canada’s southernmost city, connecting to Detroit by the Ambassador Bridge, the world’s longest international suspension bridge, and the Detroit-Windsor Auto Tunnel, the only underwater international border crossing in the world.

In 2025, the total population of the City of Windsor was estimated to be 269,614, making it the third-most populated city in Southwestern Ontario. Windsor boasts a sufficient industrial and manufacturing heritage, these two industries being primarily responsible for the City’s development throughout the years. Commonly known as the Automotive Capital of Canada, Windsor is one of Canada’s major automobile manufacturing centres and home to the headquarters of Stellantis Canada. Education and tourism are other essential components of Windsor’s strong and continuously growing economy.

The Conference Board of Canada just announced this week it expects Windsor’s economy to grow 2.4% this year and then grow at an average of annual compound of 2.9% from 2024 – 2027 giving it the strongest growth outlook of Canada’s 24 largest cities.

Government

Windsor’s municipal government consists of one mayor, elected city wide, who is the Head of Council and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Corporation of the City of Windsor. There are 10 City Councillors, elected individually by each of the City’s wards, to serve on the Windsor City Council. Presently, Windsor’s Mayor is Drew Dilkens, elected October 27, 2014.

Further information on Windsor’s Mayor and City Council can be found by clicking here.

20-Year Strategic Vision

Since the start of term, the Mayor and Council have been working collaboratively to build on the past successes of previous Councils, while also looking ahead to the future.

The Mayor and Council have developed a 20-Year Strategic Vision that will provide them with a reasonable picture of where they are headed as a city. The purpose of the 20-Year Strategic Vision is not to predict the future, but to help shape it. It will be the cornerstone for Council and City Administration when making decisions with respect to programs, services, infrastructure, and provide the community with an avenue for input on the future of the city.

The Strategic Vision can be summarized in three main goals:

• More Jobs in Windsor
• Addressing Windsor’s Reputation
• Improving Quality of Life in Windsor

Further information on the 20-Year Strategic Vision can be found by clicking here.

For information on the City's budget, click here.

To view the City's annual reports, click here.

Education

The City of Windsor is home to several major research facilities and institutes of higher education. A post-secondary cluster is being created in downtown Windsor as the University of Windsor will join St. Clair College in making downtown Windsor an education destination.

The University of Windsor is a comprehensive, student-centred university, with more than 15,000 students enrolled in a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programs including several professional schools such as Law, Business, Engineering, Nursing, Human Kinetics and Social Work. 

Additionally, the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University offers its complete undergraduate medical program at the University of Windsor. The Doctor of Medicine Program runs simultaneously at the two locations and their Windsor students are officially Western students, while also holding “affiliate” University of Windsor student status.

Public education for students from kindergarten through high school is administered by four school boards, the Greater Essex County District School Board, Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, Conseil Scolaire Catholique Providence and the Conseil Scolaire Viamonde, which have over 100 schools between them, serving the Windsor community and surrounding areas in Essex County. There are also over a dozen registered private vocational schools in the city.

Windsor is also located in close proximity to major American medical schools located in Michigan. Medical programs at Michigan State, University of Michigan and Wayne State University are just minutes away.